Florida
Keys employment
Our local economy leans towards goods and services for
both new residents and tourists.The retail, construction
and hotel industries have the most employees in Monroe
County.
Business Size
Monroe County is comprised of primarily small businesses.
Since there is no state or local income tax, you take
home more.
Employment: The good news. Key West has one of the
lowest unemployment rates in the country.
Why? Key West is one of the most popular destination
points in the world for Divers, Boaters, Fishermen
and people looking to get out of the bad weather and
enjoy our water and the unique ambiance of Key West
and the neighboring islands
So What. In addition to people flying and driving
in, on average we get two to three Cruise ships from
all over the world each day. This has spurred a growth
which includes more hotels, condos, and restaurants,
charters, etc. Obviously all these new startups plus
all the existing ones need people.
So. The bad news for an Employer!
Employers have a hard time finding full time or year
round employees. Instead they get people looking
to work summers or to pay for extended vacations.
Now there is nothing wrong with this and in some
cases this is what they want however in most cases
they would like to find steady year round help and
offer full benefits.
The good news for you.
If you are looking for a steady job, have your own
transportation and a good work ethic (will show up)
there are lots of jobs to be had. For instance in
the building, remodeling trade contractors have a
very hard time getting reliable help. Some of these
jobs start at $15.00 per hour. In general retail
jobs start at $8.00 and quickly go to $10.00 and
more with commissions.
Sound too good to be true. Remember this is a resort
area, which has a unique and completely different makeup
than the rest of the country or world. Kind of like
Aspen except that we get tourists year round!
To look for jobs in the classifieds go to www.keysjobs.com
or www.keynoter.com
Some statistics:
• Construction 5.4%
• Education & Health Services 12.3%
• Financial Activities 6.0%
• Information 1.3%
• Leisure & Hospitality 32.6%
• Manufacturing 0.8%
• Natural Resources & Mining 0.4%
• Other Services 3.5%
• Professional & Business Services 7.8%
• Public administration 8.8%
• Trade, Transportation and Utilities 21.2%
The areas top employers as of September 2004 per the
Enterprise Florida site at http://www.eflorida.com/profiles/CountyReport.asp?CountyID=25&Display=all
• Monroe County
• Business Line: County Government
• Number of Employees.....................................................
700
• HMA
• Business Line: Hospital
• Number of Employees.....................................................
600
• Monroe County Sheriff's Office
• Business Line: Law Enforcement
• Number of Employees.....................................................
561
• City of Key West
• Business Line: City Government
• Number of Employees.....................................................
500
• HTA
• Business Line: Tourist Attraction & Retail
Company
• Number of Employees.....................................................
300
• FKAA
• Business Line: County Water Comany
• Number of Employees.....................................................
258
• Florida Keys Community College
• Business Line: Education
• Number of Employees.....................................................
225
Additional resources for demographic information include:
• Bureau of Economic and Business Research at
the University of Florida (BEBR)
• http://www.bebr.ufl.edu/
• U.S Census Bureau
• http://www.census.gov
• Florida Agency for Workforce Innovation – Labor
Market Information
• http://www.labormarketinfo.com
State jobs http://dms.myflorida.com
Take a look at http://www.employmentwizard.com/?pid=172
In conclusion, its not New York, but you're living
in a tropical paradise and you're still in the United
States. |
